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Cheerleading is an athletic activity that uses organized routines made up of elements from dance, gymnastics, and stunting to cheer on sports teams at games and matches (hence the name cheerleader- leading the cheer), and/or as a competitive sport. A cheerleading performer is called a cheerleader. It is most common in North America.
Cheerleading first started at Princeton University in the 1880s with the crowd chant, "Rah rah rah, tiger tiger tiger, sis sis sis, boom boom boom ahhhhhhh, Princeton Princeton Princeton!" as a way to encourage school spirit at football games. A few years later, Princeton graduate Thomas Peebles introduced the idea of organized crowd chanting to the University of Minnesota in 1884, but it was not until 1898 that University of Minnesota student Johnny Campbell stood in front of the crowd, and directed them in a chant, making Campbell the very first cheerleader. Soon after that, the University of Minnesota organized a "yell leader" squad of 4 male students.
Although it is estimated that 90% of today's cheerleading participants are female (50% of collegiate level cheerleaders are male), cheerleading started out as an all-male activity. Females started to participate in cheerleading in the 1920s, due to limited availability of female collegiate sports. By the 1940s, it was a largely female activity.
Cheerleading is most closely associated with American football, and to a lesser degree basketball. Sports such as soccer, ice hockey, and wrestling rarely have cheerleaders, and some sports like baseball have none at all...
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